Crescent Beach Hike – Oregon Coast
Secluded Crescent Beach is one of my favorite locations on the Oregon Coast. Bounded on the north by Ecola Point and on the south by Chapman Point, this pocket beach is only accessible via a 1.2 mile hike.
distance: 2.4 miles (round trip)
elevation gain: 200 ft.
difficulty: easy
drive time from Portland: 1.5 hours
parking pass: Oregon State Parks Pass
tide tables: TidesChart – Cannon Beach
Gaia GPS app route
We parked at Ecola Point and started on the Crescent Beach trail near the restrooms. A storm wiped out much of the trail a few years ago and this was our first time hiking it after the trail was rerouted. There are a couple of confusing junctions with the old trail, but when in doubt, we stayed on the higher trail farther from the ocean.
The trail heads up steps in the hillside, then reaches the entrance road for a short walk on the side of the road before the trail heads back into the forest. Views of the coastline with sea stacks come into view as you hike through forest.
Sitka spruce trees grow only within 50 miles of the coastline – a unique feature of coastal forests.
We crossed a small stream where this deer fern held its bright green new growth upward.
At this junction, we turned right and headed down steep switchbacks to the beach.
I love the views through the trees!
Looking towards Ecola Point, we could see that the tide would be too high for exploring sea caves at the north end of the beach.
The beach was covered with elk prints… it looked like they had a great time running across the beach!
The small stream crossing in the forest becomes a waterfall at the beach…
Heading back up, we stopped to marvel at several snails munching on a stick.
